My brother is an Idol

Chapter 57: Chapter 57
Chapter 57

Hyojun replied cautiously, “… Myunghee?”

“I’m so happy to hear your voice. I knew you would recognize my voice! When I called Red M, he didn’t know who I was, but you just did! Oh well, he was never really interested in me… not like you, Black M.”

“You… I told you never to be seen…”

“Oh, don’t worry. You won’t see me. At least, not by you guys anyway.”

“Then why did you call me, Myunghee?”

“I now realize that I can’t be with you oppas. You made it perfectly clear that day at the agency. But you know what this means, right? It means that no one can be with The M members, not even that new stylist of yours. She will be my first, got it?”

“What are you…?”

“Tell her to be careful. It’s so easy to get hurt nowadays. Tell her that I won’t let her off easy.”

“YOU! MYUNGHEE SHIN!”

She hung up, and after glaring at his phone for a long time, Hyojun threw it on the floor angrily.

He also did the same to the plates he was washing and screamed, “I will KILL HER! I swear it! I am going to find her and end her life!”

Jiwoo and Hyunsuk, who were also washing the dishes next to him, gaped at Hyojun in shock. Jiwoo asked in a panic, “Hey, Hyojun, what’s wrong? What happened? Was that Myunghee? Why did she call?! What did she say to you?”

Hyojun couldn’t answer him. He was too furious to think clearly. Hyunsuk patted Jiwoo’s back to calm him down. Jiwoo looked frightened, and after a few minutes, Hyojun finally replied in a trembling voice, “Myunghee is targeting Hyoyoung.”

“What? Our Hyoyoung? How? How did Myunghee find out about her?”

“That night when she came to the practice room… Myunghee must think Hyoyoung is our newly hired stylist. She threatened that if she can’t be with us, she will make sure no one does. That includes Hyoyoung.”

Jiwoo exclaimed, “Oh my god. That girl is insane. What the heck?! She is a psycho. Crazy psycho. That b*tch! She needs to be stopped.”

As usual, Hyunsuk was much calmer. He asked Hyojun quietly, “So, what are you going to do, Hyojun?”

“The only thing we can do… we need to hide Hyoyoung from that psycho.”

“But… Myunghee has already seen Hyoyoung’s face.”

“It would be close to impossible to find someone by just knowing their face. As long as we make sure Hyoyoung remains hidden…”

“But this is Myunghee Shin we are talking about. She’s crazy. She will do anything and everything to get Hyoyoung.”

***

Hyojun and Kiwook had been out for a long time. Meanwhile, Hyoyoung was cleaning up the broken plates in the kitchen. She murmured to herself, “This week has been so horrible. Will it ever end?”

Hyunsuk was still in his room on his cell phone. Jiwoo, who was helping her clean up, called her name calmly.

“Hyoyoung…”

“Why do you keep calling my name?If you want to say something, just spit it out. Stop saying my name over and over again.”

Hyoyoung stood up and finally faced him.

“Jiwoo oppa…”

Hyoyoung was going to rebuke him, but when she saw Jiwoo’s face, she burst into tears. She couldn’t help it because she could tell from his eyes and expression what he was trying to say.

He was trying to console her. He felt guilty and apologetic for putting her in this situation. He was telling her that he was there for her and that she could lean on him any time.

Jiwoo didn’t say a word, but Hyoyoung could hear everything he was trying to convey to her. Jiwoo clearly cared about her.

Her tears wouldn’t stop and Jiwoo hugged her tightly. Normally, he would’ve exclaimed and panic, but today, he just held her quietly and rubbed her back comfortingly. He was acting like a dependent oppa for once.

“Hyoyoung, I may be hugging you, but I hope you don’t take it as a come-on. I know that you have someone else in your mind. I am just being a friendly oppa, you understand, right?”

Jiwoo tried to make her laugh with a stupid joke, but Hyoyoung couldn’t stop crying. Thinking about Hyojun and Kiwook made her even more emotional.

After crying her heart out, Hyoyoung felt awkward around Jiwoo. She wasn’t sure what to do or what to say when suddenly, Jiwoo said to her, “For me… I used to hate my father the most in this world.”

What was he talking about? Hyoyoung looked up in surprise and Jiwoo continued, “My dream has always been to become a painter. Holding a brush against the canvas gave me the best feeling in the world. It was my joy and my passion in life. I could paint all day and all night without getting tired. Even if the painting didn’t work out my way, it didn’t matter to me. I didn’t see it as a failure but an experience. I loved it so much. Then, one day when I came back from school, all my art supplies and my artwork were out in the garden.”

Jiwoo paused painfully before continuing, “And… my father was standing beside the pile, burning it.”

Hyoyoung gasped and asked, “Why?”

“My father told me that his father, so that would be my grandfather, was a painter as well. And he was obsessed with painting. Apparently, my grandfather traveled all over the country to paint different sceneries and neglected his family; my father hated him for that. He said that he barely saw his father. It was like he didn’t have a father at all. That was why my father moved us to Canada. To get a way from his own father. To start fresh. But when my father saw me painting… when he saw how much I loved it, just like his own father, he couldn’t take it.”

“But… if you really wanted to paint, then your father should’ve…”

“Well, my father didn’t think that way. He yelled saying that no one could make a good living doing what they loved. He said I was being childish and naive.”

“So what did you do?”

“I wanted to prove to him that he was wrong. I wanted to show him that I could make a living doing what I love, so I joined all kinds of school clubs to try different things. Boy, I joined so many groups.”

“Oh, and that is when you met Hyunsuk Oppa?”

“Yup. But when I first met Hyunsuk, I found him shocking. He was so strange.”

“Why?”

“Hyunsuk told me his own father also wanted him to follow a different path. However, unlike me, Hyunsuk approached this problem very differently.”

“I see. I agree that I just can’t understand Hyunsuk Oppa. I’m also not sure what he does in his spare time. He is so secretive.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been his friend for the past 10 years, and I still don’t get that guy. Anyway, a long time ago, Hyunsuk told me something that shocked me.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me that my father may have approached my painting situation in the wrong way, but it was hard to argue why he did what he did. He is my father, which means I can’t deny the fact that his actions were based on unconditional love. He did what he did because he loved me.”

“What does that mean? I’m confused.”

“It means that my father may want a different path for me, but I can’t question the fact that he is genuinely worried for me. His anger towards me… came from a good place, I guess.”

“Oh…”

“And he said that if anyone shows that much love and concern for me, I should never ignore it. I must consider it.”

“…”

“And that is why Hyunsuk reacted the opposite of me when his own father criticized his dream. Instead of lashing out like I did, he got good grades and behaved well to convince his father. He thought that if he acted responsibly, his father would change his mind.”

“Wow. That sounds very tiring, Jiwoo oppa.”

“Well, that is the life Hyunsuk chose.”

“You mean to react patiently and respectfully to his parents?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“So… why are you telling me this story? What are you trying to tell me?”